Dispute over golf carts on streets turns neighbor against neighbor

Friday

Oct 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 30, 2009 at 10:54 AM

It’s neighbor against neighbor in Belvidere's River Reach subdivision over whether golf carts, which have become a common mode of transportation, should be legalized. Tension over the carts has grown enough that residents, armed with cameras, lie in wait for violators of any sort. It all started with a citation and a golf cart last year and since has turned the otherwise quiet patch of Spring Township into a paparazzi-infused community as residents take to their lawns and windows to perform surveillance on their neighbors.

Betsy Lopez Fritscher

It’s neighbor against neighbor in Belvidere's River Reach subdivision over whether golf carts, which have become a common mode of transportation, should be legalized.

Tension over the carts has grown enough that residents, armed with cameras, lie in wait for violators of any sort.

“It’s civil unhappiness and neighborhood problems of them not getting along,” said Lt. Phil Beu of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department. “What we’ve done is talked to our sergeants and said if there are issues out there where people are driving golf carts and such on the road to issue tickets. There are a lot of issues (at the subdivision) that are civil in nature, and the sheriff’s office deals with criminal activities.”

It all started with a citation and a golf cart last year and since has turned the otherwise quiet patch of Spring Township into a paparazzi-infused community as residents take to their lawns and windows to perform surveillance on their neighbors.

Carts break state code

Beu says the residents driving the carts outside of a golf course setting are breaking Illinois Vehicle Code on roads that weren’t built or set up with speed limits catered toward carts.

He said he believes the neighborhood’s problems are growing rapidly as residents continue to call deputies with video or photo proof of another’s wrongdoing, leaving the officers to investigate each incident independently and frequently.

“Every call we get, we’re looking, and each incident is weighed on its own merits,” he said. “If there are issues that they can’t or haven’t addressed, those things will erupt eventually. If you can’t get away from the individual you’re having trouble with, then one side ends up retaliating.”

Fourteen-year River Reach resident Mike Curry agrees that residents are breaking the law by driving the carts and has been working to get tickets for those who aren’t keeping the peace. Curry was given a citation in August 2008 from the Sheriff’s Department for driving his golf cart and pleaded guilty in March. He believes if one person can’t ride the vehicles, no one should.

“We’ve got videos of a couple certain persons riding up Shattuck Road on their golf carts,” he said. “The Sheriff’s Department gives me the runaround when I call and tell them I have a video. They say it’s at their discretion, but is that law good enough for one person and not all? We’re fed up with it; it’s not a neighborhood anymore.”

Curry was videotaped on his golf cart visiting a friend with his wife, Christine. The video was then shown to authorities, he said. He said a family on his block continues to use golf carts on residential streets and finds it unfair.

Curry said he has tried to get Sheriff Duane Wirth and the department to deliver a citation and they haven’t issued anything.

“We’ve got these (photos), and they haven’t done anything,” he said. “I’ve documented, and I’ve taken pictures. It’s getting ridiculous and is so bad out here, kids can’t go out in their yard and play. The neighbors have the kids scared to death running around taking video. There’s favoritism in the Sheriff’s Department.

“They’ve been taking video and all of that stuff, so I put the (no trespassing) signs up,” Curry said, of the eight signs that he posted around his home in August to prevent neighbors from spying on him.

Chad Harbison, who has lived in his Quail Drive home for three years, is also questioning the Sheriff’s Department’s enforcement of rules against golf carts on the streets. He said he was ticketed in March for driving a golf cart in the ditch in front of his property, but he says the department fines some and not others. He’s hired an attorney and is fighting the charge.

State’s Attorney Michelle Courier recognizes the hazards involved with riding the carts on or around busy Shattuck Road, which neighbors the subdivision.

“I’m familiar with the Spring Township road issue,” she said. “The Sheriff’s Department has the discretion to charge, and unfortunately they just chose one and not the other.”

It will ‘probably go on forever’

Harbison said he and dozens of other residents sought support from the township’s board late last year to pass an ordinance allowing for the carts to be legal on neighborhood streets. He said they hired Belvidere-based attorneys from Tobin & Ramon to represent them, but their quest failed.

The board voted against it 3-2 on April 13, with Supervisor Jaclyn Falkenstein breaking the tie, said Jane Anne Anderson, town clerk for Spring Township. Residents in support of the policy offered to pay for golf cart signage, but they were denied, she added.

Betsy López Fritscher can be reached at (815) 987-1377 or bfritsch@rrstar.com.

What state law says

Operation of golf carts on streets, roads and highways:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, it shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate any golf cart upon any street, highway or roadway in this State.

(d) For purposes of this Section, “golf cart” means a vehicle specifically designed and intended for the purposes of transporting one or more persons and their golf clubs or maintenance equipment while engaged in the playing of golf, supervising the play of golf, or maintaining the condition of the grounds on a public or private golf course.